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A primary transcript is the single-stranded ribonucleic acid ( RNA) product synthesized by transcription of DNA, and processed to yield various mature RNA products such as
mRNA In molecular biology, messenger ribonucleic acid (mRNA) is a single-stranded molecule of RNA that corresponds to the genetic sequence of a gene, and is read by a ribosome in the process of synthesizing a protein. mRNA is created during the ...
s,
tRNA Transfer RNA (abbreviated tRNA and formerly referred to as sRNA, for soluble RNA) is an adaptor molecule composed of RNA, typically 76 to 90 nucleotides in length (in eukaryotes), that serves as the physical link between the mRNA and the amino ...
s, and
rRNA Ribosomal ribonucleic acid (rRNA) is a type of non-coding RNA which is the primary component of ribosomes, essential to all cells. rRNA is a ribozyme which carries out protein synthesis in ribosomes. Ribosomal RNA is transcribed from ribos ...
s. The primary transcripts designated to be mRNAs are modified in preparation for
translation Translation is the communication of the meaning of a source-language text by means of an equivalent target-language text. The English language draws a terminological distinction (which does not exist in every language) between ''transla ...
. For example, a precursor mRNA (pre-mRNA) is a type of primary transcript that becomes a messenger RNA (mRNA) after
processing Processing is a free graphical library and integrated development environment (IDE) built for the electronic arts, new media art, and visual design communities with the purpose of teaching non-programmers the fundamentals of computer programming ...
. Pre-mRNA is synthesized from a DNA template in the
cell nucleus The cell nucleus (pl. nuclei; from Latin or , meaning ''kernel'' or ''seed'') is a membrane-bound organelle found in eukaryotic cells. Eukaryotic cells usually have a single nucleus, but a few cell types, such as mammalian red blood cells, h ...
by transcription. Pre-mRNA comprises the bulk of heterogeneous nuclear RNA (hnRNA). Once pre-mRNA has been completely processed, it is termed "
mature messenger RNA Mature messenger RNA, often abbreviated as mature mRNA is a eukaryotic RNA transcript that has been spliced and processed and is ready for translation in the course of protein synthesis. Unlike the eukaryotic Eukaryotes () are organisms w ...
", or simply "
messenger RNA In molecular biology, messenger ribonucleic acid (mRNA) is a single-stranded molecule of RNA that corresponds to the genetic sequence of a gene, and is read by a ribosome in the process of synthesizing a protein. mRNA is created during the ...
". The term hnRNA is often used as a synonym for pre-mRNA, although, in the strict sense, hnRNA may include nuclear RNA transcripts that do not end up as cytoplasmic mRNA. There are several steps contributing to the production of primary transcripts. All these steps involve a series of interactions to initiate and complete the transcription of DNA in the
nucleus Nucleus ( : nuclei) is a Latin word for the seed inside a fruit. It most often refers to: * Atomic nucleus, the very dense central region of an atom *Cell nucleus, a central organelle of a eukaryotic cell, containing most of the cell's DNA Nucl ...
of
eukaryotes Eukaryotes () are organisms whose cells have a nucleus. All animals, plants, fungi, and many unicellular organisms, are Eukaryotes. They belong to the group of organisms Eukaryota or Eukarya, which is one of the three domains of life. Bacter ...
. Certain factors play key roles in the activation and inhibition of transcription, where they regulate primary transcript production. Transcription produces primary transcripts that are further modified by several processes. These processes include the
5' cap In molecular biology, the five-prime cap (5′ cap) is a specially altered nucleotide on the 5′ end of some primary transcripts such as precursor messenger RNA. This process, known as mRNA capping, is highly regulated and vital in the creation ...
, 3'-polyadenylation, and
alternative splicing Alternative splicing, or alternative RNA splicing, or differential splicing, is an alternative splicing process during gene expression that allows a single gene to code for multiple proteins. In this process, particular exons of a gene may be i ...
. In particular, alternative splicing directly contributes to the diversity of mRNA found in cells. The modifications of primary transcripts have been further studied in research seeking greater knowledge of the role and significance of these transcripts. Experimental studies based on molecular changes to primary transcripts and the processes before and after transcription have led to greater understanding of diseases involving primary transcripts.


Production

The steps contributing to the production of primary transcripts involve a series of molecular interactions that initiate transcription of DNA within a cell's nucleus. Based on the needs of a given cell, certain DNA sequences are transcribed to produce a variety of RNA products to be translated into functional proteins for cellular use. To initiate the transcription process in a cell's nucleus, DNA double helices are unwound and
hydrogen bond In chemistry, a hydrogen bond (or H-bond) is a primarily electrostatic force of attraction between a hydrogen (H) atom which is covalently bound to a more electronegative "donor" atom or group (Dn), and another electronegative atom bearing a l ...
s connecting compatible nucleic acids of DNA are broken to produce two unconnected single DNA strands. One strand of the DNA template is used for transcription of the single-stranded primary transcript mRNA. This DNA strand is bound by an
RNA polymerase In molecular biology, RNA polymerase (abbreviated RNAP or RNApol), or more specifically DNA-directed/dependent RNA polymerase (DdRP), is an enzyme that synthesizes RNA from a DNA template. Using the enzyme helicase, RNAP locally opens th ...
at the promoter region of the DNA. In eukaryotes, three kinds of RNA—
rRNA Ribosomal ribonucleic acid (rRNA) is a type of non-coding RNA which is the primary component of ribosomes, essential to all cells. rRNA is a ribozyme which carries out protein synthesis in ribosomes. Ribosomal RNA is transcribed from ribos ...
,
tRNA Transfer RNA (abbreviated tRNA and formerly referred to as sRNA, for soluble RNA) is an adaptor molecule composed of RNA, typically 76 to 90 nucleotides in length (in eukaryotes), that serves as the physical link between the mRNA and the amino ...
, and mRNA—are produced based on the activity of three distinct RNA polymerases, whereas, in
prokaryotes A prokaryote () is a single-celled organism that lacks a nucleus and other membrane-bound organelles. The word ''prokaryote'' comes from the Greek πρό (, 'before') and κάρυον (, 'nut' or 'kernel').Campbell, N. "Biology:Concepts & Con ...
, only one RNA polymerase exists to create all kinds of RNA molecules. RNA polymerase II of eukaryotes transcribes the primary transcript, a transcript destined to be processed into mRNA, from the antisense DNA template in the 5' to 3' direction, and this newly synthesized primary transcript is complementary to the antisense strand of DNA. RNA polymerase II constructs the primary transcript using a set of four specific
ribonucleoside A ribonucleoside is a type of nucleoside including ribose as a component. One example of a ribonucleoside is cytidine Cytidine (symbol C or Cyd) is a nucleoside molecule that is formed when cytosine is attached to a ribose ring (also known as ...
monophosphate residues (
adenosine monophosphate Adenosine monophosphate (AMP), also known as 5'-adenylic acid, is a nucleotide. AMP consists of a phosphate group, the sugar ribose, and the nucleobase adenine; it is an ester of phosphoric acid and the nucleoside adenosine. As a substit ...
(AMP), cytidine monophosphate (CMP),
guanosine monophosphate Guanosine monophosphate (GMP), also known as 5′-guanidylic acid or guanylic acid (conjugate base guanylate), is a nucleotide that is used as a monomer in RNA. It is an ester of phosphoric acid with the nucleoside guanosine. GMP consists of the ...
(GMP), and
uridine monophosphate Uridine monophosphate (UMP), also known as 5′-uridylic acid (conjugate base uridylate), is a nucleotide that is used as a monomer in RNA. It is an ester of phosphoric acid with the nucleoside uridine. UMP consists of the phosphate group, th ...
(UMP)) that are added continuously to the 3' hydroxyl group on the 3' end of the growing mRNA. Studies of primary transcripts produced by RNA polymerase II reveal that an average primary transcript is 7,000
nucleotide Nucleotides are organic molecules consisting of a nucleoside and a phosphate. They serve as monomeric units of the nucleic acid polymers – deoxyribonucleic acid (DNA) and ribonucleic acid (RNA), both of which are essential biomolecu ...
s in length, with some growing as long as 20,000 nucleotides in length. The inclusion of both
exon An exon is any part of a gene that will form a part of the final mature RNA produced by that gene after introns have been removed by RNA splicing. The term ''exon'' refers to both the DNA sequence within a gene and to the corresponding sequen ...
and
intron An intron is any Nucleic acid sequence, nucleotide sequence within a gene that is not expressed or operative in the final RNA product. The word ''intron'' is derived from the term ''intragenic region'', i.e. a region inside a gene."The notion of ...
sequences within primary transcripts explains the size difference between larger primary transcripts and smaller, mature mRNA ready for translation into protein.


Regulation

A number of factors contribute to the activation and inhibition of transcription and therefore regulate the production of primary transcripts from a given DNA template. Activation of RNA polymerase activity to produce primary transcripts is often controlled by sequences of DNA called enhancers.
Transcription factors In molecular biology, a transcription factor (TF) (or sequence-specific DNA-binding factor) is a protein that controls the rate of transcription of genetic information from DNA to messenger RNA, by binding to a specific DNA sequence. The fun ...
, proteins that bind to DNA elements to either activate or repress transcription, bind to enhancers and recruit enzymes that alter
nucleosome A nucleosome is the basic structural unit of DNA packaging in eukaryotes. The structure of a nucleosome consists of a segment of DNA wound around eight histone proteins and resembles thread wrapped around a spool. The nucleosome is the fundame ...
components, causing DNA to be either more or less accessible to RNA polymerase. The unique combinations of either activating or inhibiting transcription factors that bind to enhancer DNA regions determine whether or not the gene that enhancer interacts with is activated for transcription or not. Activation of transcription depends on whether or not the transcription elongation complex, itself consisting of a variety of transcription factors, can induce RNA polymerase to dissociate from the
Mediator Mediator may refer to: *A person who engages in mediation * Business mediator, a mediator in business * Vanishing mediator, a philosophical concept * Mediator variable, in statistics Chemistry and biology *Mediator (coactivator), a multiprotein ...
complex that connects an enhancer region to the promoter. Inhibition of RNA polymerase activity can also be regulated by DNA sequences called silencers. Like enhancers, silencers may be located at locations farther up or downstream from the genes they regulate. These DNA sequences bind to factors that contribute to the destabilization of the initiation complex required to activate RNA polymerase, and therefore inhibit transcription.
Histone In biology, histones are highly basic proteins abundant in lysine and arginine residues that are found in eukaryotic cell nuclei. They act as spools around which DNA winds to create structural units called nucleosomes. Nucleosomes in turn a ...
modification by transcription factors is another key regulatory factor for transcription by RNA polymerase. In general, factors that lead to histone
acetylation : In organic chemistry, acetylation is an organic esterification reaction with acetic acid. It introduces an acetyl group into a chemical compound. Such compounds are termed ''acetate esters'' or simply '' acetates''. Deacetylation is the oppos ...
activate transcription while factors that lead to histone
deacetylation : In organic chemistry, acetylation is an organic esterification reaction with acetic acid. It introduces an acetyl group into a chemical compound. Such compounds are termed ''acetate esters'' or simply '' acetates''. Deacetylation is the oppo ...
inhibit transcription. Acetylation of histones induces repulsion between negative components within nucleosomes, allowing for RNA polymerase access. Deacetylation of histones stabilizes tightly coiled nucleosomes, inhibiting RNA polymerase access. In addition to acetylation patterns of histones, methylation patterns at promoter regions of DNA can regulate RNA polymerase access to a given template. RNA polymerase is often incapable of synthesizing a primary transcript if the targeted gene's promoter region contains specific methylated cytosines— residues that hinder binding of transcription-activating factors and recruit other enzymes to stabilize a tightly bound nucleosome structure, excluding access to RNA polymerase and preventing the production of primary transcripts.


R-loops

R-loops are formed during transcription. An R-loop is a three-stranded nucleic acid structure containing a DNA-RNA hybrid region and an associated non-template single-stranded DNA. Actively transcribed regions of DNA often form R-loops that are vulnerable to
DNA damage DNA repair is a collection of processes by which a cell identifies and corrects damage to the DNA molecules that encode its genome. In human cells, both normal metabolic activities and environmental factors such as radiation can cause DNA d ...
. Introns reduce R-loop formation and DNA damage in highly expressed yeast genes.


RNA processing

Transcription, a highly regulated phase in gene expression, produces primary transcripts. However, transcription is only the first step which should be followed by many modifications that yield functional forms of RNAs. Otherwise stated, the newly synthesized primary transcripts are modified in several ways to be converted to their mature, functional forms to produce different proteins and RNAs such as mRNA, tRNA, and rRNA.


Processing

The basic primary transcript modification process is similar for tRNA and rRNA in both eukaryotic and prokaryotic cells. On the other hand, primary transcript processing varies in mRNAs of prokaryotic and eukaryotic cells. For example, some prokaryotic bacterial mRNAs serve as templates for synthesis of proteins at the same time they are being produced via transcription. Alternatively, pre-mRNA of eukaryotic cells undergo a wide range of modifications prior to their transport from the nucleus to cytoplasm where their mature forms are translated. These modifications are responsible for the different types of encoded messages that lead to translation of various types of products. Furthermore, primary transcript processing provides a control for gene expression as well as a regulatory mechanism for the degradation rates of mRNAs. The processing of pre-mRNA in eukaryotic cells includes
5' cap In molecular biology, the five-prime cap (5′ cap) is a specially altered nucleotide on the 5′ end of some primary transcripts such as precursor messenger RNA. This process, known as mRNA capping, is highly regulated and vital in the creation ...
ping, 3' polyadenylation, and
alternative splicing Alternative splicing, or alternative RNA splicing, or differential splicing, is an alternative splicing process during gene expression that allows a single gene to code for multiple proteins. In this process, particular exons of a gene may be i ...
.


5' capping

Shortly after transcription is initiated in eukaryotes, a pre-mRNA's 5' end is modified by the addition of a 7-methylguanosine cap, also known as a 5' cap. The 5' capping modification is initiated by the addition of a GTP to the 5' terminal nucleotide of the pre-mRNA in reverse orientation followed by the addition of methyl groups to the G residue. 5' capping is essential for the production of functional mRNAs since the 5' cap is responsible for aligning the mRNA with the ribosome during translation.


Polyadenylation

In eukaryotes, polyadenylation further modifies pre-mRNAs during which a structure called the poly-A tail is added. Signals for polyadenylation, which include several RNA sequence elements, are detected by a group of proteins which signal the addition of the poly-A tail (approximately 200 nucleotides in length). The polyadenylation reaction provides a signal for the end of transcription and this reaction ends approximately a few hundred nucleotides downstream from the poly-A tail location.


Alternative splicing

Eukaryotic pre-mRNAs have their introns spliced out by spliceosomes made up of small nuclear ribonucleoproteins. In complex eukaryotic cells, one primary transcript is able to prepare large amounts of mature mRNAs due to alternative splicing. Alternative splicing is regulated so that each mature mRNA may encode a multiplicity of proteins. The effect of alternative splicing in gene expression can be seen in complex eukaryotes which have a fixed number of genes in their genome yet produce much larger numbers of different gene products. Most eukaryotic pre-mRNA transcripts contain multiple introns and exons. The various possible combinations of 5' and 3' splice sites in a pre-mRNA can lead to different excision and combination of exons while the introns are eliminated from the mature mRNA. Thus, various kinds of mature mRNAs are generated. Alternative splicing takes place in a large protein complex called the spliceosome. Alternative splicing is crucial for tissue-specific and developmental regulation in gene expression. Alternative splicing can be affected by various factors, including mutations such as
chromosomal translocation In genetics, chromosome translocation is a phenomenon that results in unusual rearrangement of chromosomes. This includes balanced and unbalanced translocation, with two main types: reciprocal-, and Robertsonian translocation. Reciprocal transl ...
. In prokaryotes, splicing is done by autocatalytic cleavage or by endolytic cleavage. Autocatalytic cleavages, in which no proteins are involved, are usually reserved for sections that code for rRNA, whereas endolytic cleavage corresponds to tRNA precursors.


Experiments

A study by Cindy L. Wills and Bruce J. Dolnick from the Department of Experimental Therapeutics at Roswell Park Comprehensive Cancer Center (then known as the Roswell Park Memorial Institute) in
Buffalo, New York Buffalo is the second-largest city in the U.S. state of New York (behind only New York City) and the seat of Erie County. It is at the eastern end of Lake Erie, at the head of the Niagara River, and is across the Canadian border from Sou ...
and from the Cell and Molecular Biology Program at University of Wisconsin in Madison, Wisconsin was made to understand cellular processes involving primary transcripts. Researchers wanted to understand whether 5-
Fluorouracil Fluorouracil (5-FU), sold under the brand name Adrucil among others, is a cytotoxic chemotherapy medication used to treat cancer. By intravenous injection it is used for treatment of colorectal cancer, oesophageal cancer, stomach cancer, panc ...
(FUra), a drug known for use in cancer treatment, inhibits or shuts down
dihydrofolate reductase Dihydrofolate reductase, or DHFR, is an enzyme that reduces dihydrofolic acid to tetrahydrofolic acid, using NADPH as an electron donor, which can be converted to the kinds of tetrahydrofolate cofactors used in 1-carbon transfer chemistry ...
(DHFR) pre-mRNA processing and/or nuclear mRNA stability in
methotrexate Methotrexate (MTX), formerly known as amethopterin, is a chemotherapy agent and immune-system suppressant. It is used to treat cancer, autoimmune diseases, and ectopic pregnancies. Types of cancers it is used for include breast cancer, leuke ...
-resistant KB cells. Long-term exposure to FUra had no effect on the level of DHFR pre-mRNA containing certain introns, which are sections of pre-mRNA that are usually cut out of the sequence as a part of processing. However, levels of total DHFR mRNA decreased two-fold in cells exposed to 1.0
μM The micrometre ( international spelling as used by the International Bureau of Weights and Measures; SI symbol: μm) or micrometer ( American spelling), also commonly known as a micron, is a unit of length in the International System of Uni ...
FUra. There was no significant change in the
half-life Half-life (symbol ) is the time required for a quantity (of substance) to reduce to half of its initial value. The term is commonly used in nuclear physics to describe how quickly unstable atoms undergo radioactive decay or how long stable ...
, which refers to the time it takes 50% of the mRNA to decay, of total DHFR mRNA or pre-mRNA observed in cells exposed to FUra. And nuclear/cytoplasmic RNA labeling experiments demonstrated that the rate of nuclear DHFR RNA changing to cytoplasmic DHFR mRNA decreased in cells treated with FUra. These results provide further evidence that FUra may help in the processing of mRNA precursors and/or affect the stability of nuclear DHFR mRNA. Judith Lengyel and Sheldon Penman from the department of Biology at the
Massachusetts Institute of Technology The Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) is a private land-grant research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Established in 1861, MIT has played a key role in the development of modern technology and science, and is one of th ...
(MIT) in Cambridge, Massachusetts wrote an article about one type of primary transcript involved in the genes of two dipterans, or insects that have two wings: ''
Drosophila ''Drosophila'' () is a genus of flies, belonging to the family Drosophilidae, whose members are often called "small fruit flies" or (less frequently) pomace flies, vinegar flies, or wine flies, a reference to the characteristic of many speci ...
'' and ''
Aedes ''Aedes'' is a genus of mosquitoes originally found in tropical and subtropical zones, but now found on all continents except perhaps Antarctica. Some species have been spread by human activity: '' Aedes albopictus'', a particularly invasive sp ...
''. The article describes how researchers looked at hnRNA, or basically pre-mRNA, primary transcripts in the two kinds of insects. The size of hnRNA transcripts and the fraction of hnRNA that is converted to mRNA in cell lines, or groups of cells derived from a single cell of whatever one is studying, of ''Drosophila melanogaster'' and ''Aedes albopictus'' were compared. Both insects are dipterans, but ''Aedes'' has a larger genome than ''Drosophila''. This means that Aedes has more DNA, which means more genes. The ''Aedes'' line make larger hnRNA than did the ''Drosophila'' line even though the two cell lines grew under similar conditions and produced mature or processed mRNA of the same size and sequence complexity. These data suggest that the size of hnRNA increases with increasing genome size, which is obviously shown by Aedes. Ivo Melcak, Stepanka Melcakova, Vojtech Kopsky, Jaromıra Vecerova and Ivan Raska from the department of Cell Biology at the Institute of Experimental Medicine, at the Academy of Sciences of Czech Republic in Prague studied the influences of nuclear speckles on pre-mRNA. Nuclear speckles (speckles) are a part of the nuclei of cells and are enriched with
splicing factor A splicing factor is a protein involved in the removal of introns An intron is any nucleotide sequence within a gene that is not expressed or operative in the final RNA product. The word ''intron'' is derived from the term ''intragenic region'', ...
s known for involvement in mRNA processing. Nuclear speckles have shown to serve neighboring active genes as storage places of these splicing factors. In this study, researchers showed that, in HeLa cells which derived from cells of a person who had cervical cancer and have proven useful for experiments, the first group of spliceosomes on pre-mRNA come from these speckles. Researchers used microinjections of spliceosome-accepting and mutant
adenovirus Adenoviruses (members of the family ''Adenoviridae'') are medium-sized (90–100 nm), nonenveloped (without an outer lipid bilayer) viruses with an icosahedral nucleocapsid containing a double-stranded DNA genome. Their name derives from ...
pre-mRNAs with differential splicing factor binding to make different groups and then followed the sites in which they were heavily present. Spliceosome-accepting pre-mRNAs were rapidly targeted into the speckles, but the targeting was found to be temperature-dependent. The polypyrimidine tract sequences in mRNA promote the construction of spliceosome groups and is required for targeting, but, by itself, was not sufficient. The downstream flanking sequences were particularly important for the targeting of the mutant pre-mRNAs in the speckles. In supportive experiments, the behavior of the speckles was followed after the microinjection of antisense deoxyoligoribonucleotides (complementary sequences of DNA and or RNA to a specific sequence) and, in this case, specific sequences of snRNAs. snRNAs are known for helping in the processing of pre-mRNA as well. Under these conditions, spliceosome groups formed on endogenous pre-mRNAs. Researchers concluded that the spliceosome groups on microinjected pre-mRNA form inside the speckles. Pre-mRNA targeting and buildup in the speckles is a result of the loading of splicing factors to the pre-mRNA, and the spliceosome groups gave rise to the speckled pattern observed.


Related diseases

Research has also led to greater knowledge about certain diseases related to changes within primary transcripts. One study involved estrogen receptors and differential splicing. The article entitled, "Alternative splicing of the human estrogen receptor alpha primary transcript: mechanisms of exon skipping" by Paola Ferro, Alessandra Forlani, Marco Muselli and Ulrich Pfeffer from the laboratory of Molecular Oncology at National Cancer Research Institute in Genoa, Italy, explains that 1785 nucleotides of the region in the DNA that codes for the estrogen receptor alpha (ER-alpha) are spread over a region that holds more than 300,000 nucleotides in the primary transcript. Splicing of this pre-mRNA frequently leads to variants or different kinds of the mRNA lacking one or more exons or regions necessary for coding proteins. These variants have been associated with
breast cancer Breast cancer is cancer that develops from breast tissue. Signs of breast cancer may include a lump in the breast, a change in breast shape, dimpling of the skin, milk rejection, fluid coming from the nipple, a newly inverted nipple, or ...
progression. In the life cycle of
retrovirus A retrovirus is a type of virus that inserts a DNA copy of its RNA genome into the DNA of a host cell that it invades, thus changing the genome of that cell. Once inside the host cell's cytoplasm, the virus uses its own reverse transcriptas ...
es, proviral DNA is incorporated in transcription of the DNA of the cell being infected. Since retroviruses need to change their pre-mRNA into DNA so that this DNA can be integrated within the DNA of the host it is affecting, the formation of that DNA template is a vital step for retrovirus replication. Cell type, the differentiation or changed state of the cell, and the physiological state of the cell, result in a significant change in the availability and activity of certain factors necessary for transcription. These variables create a wide range of viral gene expression. For example, tissue culture cells actively producing infectious virions of avian or murine
leukemia Leukemia ( also spelled leukaemia and pronounced ) is a group of blood cancers that usually begin in the bone marrow and result in high numbers of abnormal blood cells. These blood cells are not fully developed and are called ''blasts'' or ...
viruses (ASLV or MLV) contain such high levels of viral RNA that 5–10% of the mRNA in a cell can be of viral origin. This shows that the primary transcripts produced by these retroviruses do not always follow the normal path to protein production and convert back into DNA in order to multiply and expand.Coffin JM, Hughes SH, Varmus HE, editors. Retroviruses. Cold Spring Harbor (NY): Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory Press; 1997. Available from: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/NBK19441/


See also

* ''cis''-splicing * Outron * ''trans''-splicing *
Transcription (biology) Transcription is the process of copying a segment of DNA into RNA. The segments of DNA transcribed into RNA molecules that can encode proteins are said to produce messenger RNA (mRNA). Other segments of DNA are copied into RNA molecules calle ...
*
Transcriptome The transcriptome is the set of all RNA transcripts, including coding and non-coding, in an individual or a population of cells. The term can also sometimes be used to refer to all RNAs, or just mRNA, depending on the particular experiment. The t ...


References


External links


Scienceden.com RNA Article
{{Nucleic acids RNA